Security experts tell Georgia board Dominion system has exploitable flaws and urge removal of QR ballots

A panel of cybersecurity and ballot‑forensics presenters told the Georgia State Election Board that the state’s current voting system contains vulnerabilities that undermine auditability and urged policy changes ahead of a July 1, 2026 deadline in pending legislation.

Clay Periq, a cybersecurity expert, questioned the adequacy of source‑code review and test‑reporting for Democracy Suite (5.5 / 5.5 alpha), highlighted limited review windows in testing documents and said hardcoded passwords and accessible cryptographic keys remain a risk. He argued those factors reduce the system’s auditability and forensic value.

Phil Davis (Ballot Assure) and Garland Fabrito (VoterGA) focused on QR‑coded ballots and ballot‑image anomalies. Davis said QR ballots encode candidate ID numbers rather than names, creating index‑based fragility: if a candidate is marked "disabled" in a configuration or different machines use different configurations, votes can shift. He cited the Spears‑Orson example and reported rescans and timestamp anomalies in some counties. Fabrito and others summarized forensic analyses presented in court filings that identified hardcoded credentials, evidence of remote access footprints, and post‑installation file modifications on at least one county server.

Presenters urged several responses: remove or pilot the removal of QR codes in favor of hand‑marked paper ballots with hand audits; require rigorous source‑code and penetration testing under strengthened guidelines; and, for some presenters, file an emergency petition with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to vacate Dominion’s certification until these issues are remedied. Board members and staff asked technical clarifying questions; the Secretary of State’s office did not send a counterpresentation to address the experts’ claims at this meeting.